We were made by God to have a relationship with Him.We can catch
a glimpse of the type of relationship He intended when
we see God Himself walking in the Garden of Eden and
talking to Adam and Eve one-to-one.

"Then the man and his wife heard the
sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God
among the trees of the garden.But the Lord God called to the
man, 'Where are you?'He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I
was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'"Genesis
3:8-10.

Sin, however, had
entered the picture at this point in the narrative, and
the relationship that Adam and Eve had shared with God
was clearly broken.

Furthermore, the
consequences of what happened in the Garden of Eden
continued on to affect all of the descendants of Adam:

"Therefore, just as sin entered the
world through one man, and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all men, because all sinned …."Romans 5:12.

But what actually
happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed the command not to
eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?The Bible
tells us that death would result:

"The Lord God took the man and put him
in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.And the Lord
God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any
tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat
of it you will surely die.'"Genesis
2:15-17.

But, since Adam and Eve did not die on the spot
physically, did death actually come to them that day?

Eternal Life is a Relationship with God

When we look at the response of
Adam and Eve to the presence of God, we can infer a
dramatic change in their relationship to Him.They hide and
are ashamed.

It is this break
in their relationship with God that is significant;
because it is the relationship itself that is a matter
of life or death.

Take a look at
the definition of eternal life:

"Father, the time has come.Glorify your
Son, that your Son may glorify you.For you
granted him authority over all people that he might give
eternal life to all those you have given him.Now this is
eternal life that they may know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."John 17:1-3.

Eternal life is a relationship
with God – that we may know Him.Therefore, we
can extrapolate that death is a break or separation from
a relationship with God.

Three-fold Progression

Consequently,
death did occur that day in the Garden of Eden, because
there was a break in Adam and Eve's relationship with
God.But
death becomes a bit more complicated when dealing with a
God who is triune in nature.Technically, one can have a
relationship with each member of the Trinity.

Life or death,
then, becomes a three-fold progression to or away from
God.

Triune Nature

Scripture plainly
tells us that God is the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit in Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14.

We can also see the Trinity
present and active at the time of Creation.

"In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth.Now the earth was formless and
empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and
the Spirit of
God was hovering over the waters."Genesis
1:1-2.

"Then
God said, 'Let us make
man in our
image,in
our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of
the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock,
over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move
along the ground."Genesis 1:26.

The Hebrew for
"God" in Genesis 1:1 is "Elohim," which is in plural
form.Likewise,
in Genesis 1:26, the plural nature of God is emphasized
by the statement to make man in "our image, in our
likeness."

In Genesis, we see God as the
Will, the Word (i.e. Embodiment) and the Spirit of God.

Image of God

In order to have
a "one-to-one" relationship with another, there has to
be a shared nature.As much as I love my pets, my relationship with
them will never be on par with the relationship that I
can have with another human being.

The Bible tells
us that man was made in the image of God.Since God is
triune in nature, it should not be surprising that we
are as well:

"May God himself, the God of peace,
sanctify you through and through.May your
whole spirit,
soul and body be kept blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."1
Thessalonians 5:23.

God created man to be like Him.As such, we
have the potential to commune with Him fully:Our spirit to
the Holy Spirit; our body to the Body of Christ; and our
will to the Will of the Father.

Life or death is
a wonderful (or terrible) symmetry between the triune
natures of God and man.

We see life as a
progression from spiritual life to immortal life to
eternal life.Likewise,
we see death as a progression from spiritual death to
physical death to eternal death.

Both hinge,
however, on the issue of sin.

Tree of Law

Adam and Eve
sinned by disobeying a direct commandment from God not
to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.As soon as
they ate, their eyes were opened and they knew right
from wrong.They
also became aware of their sin.

The Apostle Paul
explains their (and our) dilemma this way:

"What shall we say, then?Is the law
sin?Certainly
not!Indeed
I would not have known what sin was except through the
law.For I
would not have known what coveting really was if the law
had not said, 'Do not covet.'But sin, seizing the opportunity
afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind
of covetous desire.For apart from law, sin is dead.Once I was
alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin
sprang to life and I died.I found that the very commandment
that was intended to bring life actually brought death.For sin,
seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,
deceived me, and through the commandment put me to
death.So
then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy,
righteous and good.Did that which is good, then, become death to me?By no means!But in order
that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death
in me through what was good, so that through the
commandment sin might become utterly sinful."Romans
7:7-13.

We recognize good and evil, but
our sinful natures cannot stop doing evil.We are unable
to fulfill the requirements of the law.

Before we can
become reconciled to God, the problem of sin must be
dealt with.This
is because God requires us to be holy.

"Be holy because I, the Lord your God,
am holy."Leviticus
19:2.

The Apostle Paul
addresses the solution to this dilemma, as well:

"Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set
me free from the law of sin and death.For what the law
was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the
sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.
And so
he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the
righteous requirements of the law might be full met in
us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but
according to the Spirit."Romans 8:1-4.

The Sin Offering

Sin requires the
penalty of death.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."Romans 6:23.

Simply, someone
has to die.

In the Garden of
Eden, Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness by
sewing fig leaves together and making coverings for
themselves.These
man-made coverings were inadequate, however.So, God
Himself made coverings for them out of animal skins.

Thus, the
principle of the substitutionary sacrifice was
established: "For the life of
a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you
to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is
the blood that makes atonement for one's life."Leviticus
17:11.

"In
fact, the law requires that nearly everything be
cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness."Hebrews 9:22.

But the blood of an animal can
never take away sins of a man.(See Hebrews 10:3-4.)Only the
substitutionary death of a sinless man can take away the
sins of another man.

So God Himself became that
sinless man, and became the Sin Offering for all of
mankind.(See
Hebrews 10:11-14.)Imagine that!God became like us.

"Since the children
have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by
his death he might destroy him who holds the power of
death – that is, the devil – and free those who all
their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.For surely it
is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.For this
reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way,
in order that he might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in service to God, and that he might make
atonement for the sins of the people.Because he
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help
those who are being tempted."Hebrews 2:14-18.

Unlike the myriad
of animals that died under the sacrificial system, Jesus
Christ offered Himself willingly.Nor did He
remain dead.Instead,
He had victory over death.And through His death and
resurrection, we can too.

"For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.For as in
Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."1 Corinthians
15:21-22.

Someone has to pay the penalty
for sin – but it can be either the sinner or the
Substitute.The
choice is up to each one of us.

The Tree of Life and the Cross

God did an
interesting thing after he clothed Adam and Eve with
garments of skin.He barred them from the Garden.

"And the Lord God said, 'The man has
now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.He must not
be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the
tree of life and eat, and live forever.'So the Lord
God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the
ground from which he had been taken.After he
drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the
Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sward flashing
back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”Genesis
3:22-24.

So, what kind of life did the
Tree of Life actually represent?

The answer can be
ascertained from the fact that the bodies of Adam and
Eve, which were made out of the dust of the earth, were
naked.If
you do a word search for the term "naked," you will find
the following passage:

"Now we know that if the earthly tent
we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.Meanwhile we
groan, longing
to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when
we are clothed, we will not be found naked.For while
we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened,
because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be
clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what
is mortal may be swallowed up by life.Now it is God
who has made us for this very purpose and has given us
the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."2 Corinthians
5:1-5.

It appears that
our mortal bodies are considered to be naked until they
are clothed with immortality. It seems
logical then, in order to have a one-to-one relationship
with an Immortal God, we must become immortal as well.

But God
prohibited Adam and Eve from eating of the Tree of Life
while they were in a sinful state.So how can
we, the inheritor’s of Adam’s sinful nature, progress to
immortality?

We just need to
find another Tree of Life.

I do not think that it is a
coincidence that the Cross is called a tree (See Acts
5:29-31 and Galatians 3:13) or that we are symbolically
commanded to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ
(See 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Cross has become our Tree
of Life and Jesus Christ is its fruit.Like the
original Tree of Life, its fruit is offered freely.We have the
choice, however, whether we will eat from it.

Remember the two thieves who
were crucified with Christ.Both were about to die for their
own sins.One
"ate" from the Tree of Life and went on to be with the
Lord in Paradise.The other died and paid for his own sins.See Luke
23:39-43.

New Life

New life begins
with the spirit, which makes sense because death began
there in Eden.

"Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth,
no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of
water and the Spirit.Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives
birth to spirit.'"John 3:5-6.

The progression
to Eternal Life begins when the Holy Spirit is
reconciled with our spirit.He comes to live in us and He has
fellowship with our spirit.

"If you love me, you
will obey what I command.And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of
truth.The
world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor
knows him.But you know
him, for he lives with you and will be in you."John
14:15-17.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God's children."Romans 8:16.

The presence of the Holy Spirit
in our bodies is also a guarantee of our next
progression to immortal life.At some point in the future, we
will be joined to Christ's Immortal Body.

"But if Christ is in you, your body is
dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of
righteousness.And
if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will
also give life
to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who
lives in you."Romans
8:10-11.

"After
all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and
cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are
members of his body.For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two
will become one flesh.This is a
profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the
church."Ephesians
5:29-32.

"For
the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first.After
that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air.And so we will
be with the Lord forever."1
Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Finally, after all of mankind
is judged and assigned to either the "first
resurrection" or the Lake of Fire, a new heaven and a
new earth will be created.At that time, God the Father will
dwell with men.

"Now the dwelling of God is with men,
and he will live with them.They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their God."Revelation
21:3.

At that point, we will know the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit on a one-to-one basis.We will have
Eternal Life.

Eternal Separation

If a person does
not choose Christ, however, he will remain spiritually
dead.He
is already condemned.

"For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God did
not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned already
because he has not believed in the name of God's one and
only Son."John
3:16-18.

Physical death
will come next, and we are told that the unsaved are
sent to hell while they await judgment.See Luke
16:19-31.Unlike
the Christian, who goes to be with Christ upon physical
death.See
Philippians 1:21-24.

"Just as man is destined to die once,
and after that to face judgment, so Christ was
sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but
to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."Hebrews
9:27-28.

It is interesting
to note that everyone will be resurrected to an eternal
existence of either life or death.(See
Revelation 20 which contrasts the "first resurrection"
and the "second death" which is the Lake of Fire.)

"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of
the earth will awake: some to everlasting life,
others to shame and everlasting contempt."Daniel 12:2.

"Do
not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who
are in their graves will hear his voice and come out –
those who have done good will rise to live,
and those who have done evil will rise to be
condemned."John 5:28-29.

"Then they will go
away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."Matthew
25:46.

Those who die in
their sins, will spend eternity paying the penalty for
their sins – eternal death.Their separation from the Spirit,
Body and Will of God will be complete.

Made in the image of the Last Adam

We are told that
Adam "was a pattern of the one to come."

"Therefore, just as sin entered the
world through one man, and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all men, because all sinned – for
before the law was given, sin was in the world.But sin is
not taken into account when there is no law.Nevertheless,
death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of
Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a
command, as did Adam,
who was a pattern of the one to come."Romans
5:12-14.

Death came
through Adam.Likewise,
new life comes through Jesus Christ.

"But Christ has
indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep.For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a
man.For as in Adam
all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."1 Corinthians
15:20-27.

Through Him, we have the
expectation of an immortal body – like His.In fact, we
will be made in His image.

"If there is a natural body, there is also a
spiritual body.So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a
living being'; the
last Adam, a life giving spirit.The spiritual
did not come first, but the natural, and after that the
spiritual.The
first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man
from heaven.As
was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth;
and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are
of heaven.And just as we
have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall
we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."1 Corinthians
15:44-49.

Jesus Christ is the firstborn
of all those who will have victory over death.

"He is before all things, and in him
all things hold together.And he is the head of the body, the church, he is
the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that
in everything he might have the supremacy.For God was
pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross."Colossians
1:18-20.

We will be able to commune with
Him one-to-one because we will be like Him.

One-to-one Relationship with God

There is an
interesting account between Moses and the Lord in which
Moses requests to see His face:

"Then Moses said, 'Now show me your
glory.'And
the Lord said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in
front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in
your presence.I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion.But,' he said,
'you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and
live.'Then
the Lord said, 'There is a place near me where you may
stand on a rock.When
my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the
rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.Then I will
remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face
must not be seen.'"Exodus 33:18-23.

Sinful man cannot look at the
face of God and live.But through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our
sins can be taken away.

"For as high as the heavens are above
the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us."Psalm
103:11-12.

Furthermore, we
have the hope of a resurrection which will transform us
into His image.

"Dear friends, now we are children of
God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.But we know that
when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is."1 John 3:2.

Then, we will be able to relate
to the Triune God one-to-one with our spirit, body and
soul.

"Then the angel showed me the river of
the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the
great street of the city.On each side of the river stood the tree of life,
bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month.And
the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations.No
longer will there be any curse.The throne of
God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his
servants will serve him.They
will see his face, and his name will be on
their foreheads.There
will be no more night.They will not need the light of a lamp or the
light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.And they will
reign for ever and ever."Revelation
22:1-5.

We will dwell
with God in the New Jerusalem – a new Eden,
complete with a tree of life.He will seek
us out in the cool of the day.And we will see Him, face-to-face,
as He intended.